Frank Ollie (1995)

June 20, 1997

The Men Who Made Pinocchio Come Alive

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

Published: June 20, 1997

Besides an obvious talent for drawing, what is the secret of creating memorable movie cartoon characters? One astute commentator in ''Frank and Ollie,'' a tantalizing peek into the history of cartoon animation, credits the magic of infusing an image with compelling personality as a matter of ''sincerity.''

As depicted in ''Frank and Ollie,'' an enthralling portrait of the legendary Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, sincerity is not having an open-hearted approach to cartoon characters and situations but the ability to enter so completely into the world you are imagining that you inhabit the bodies and minds of the creations that spring from your pencil.

Illustrated with snippets of the team's best work -- the longest excerpts are from ''Bambi,'' ''The Sword and the Stone'' and ''The Jungle Book'' -- the movie portrays its subjects as articulate, mild-mannered octogenarians who remain remarkably young at heart. During their 43 years with Disney, Mr. Thomas and Mr. Johnston collaborated on 23 films, including ''Snow White'' and ''Pinocchio,'' and wrote four books. Contrary to popular assumption, they recall, the Disney empire had its financially shaky moments. ''Pinocchio,'' ''Fantasia'' and ''Bambi'' all failed to make money. It wasn't until the company developed theme parks and moved into television that it found a secure footing.

The two met at Stanford in 1931 and began working for Disney three years later at a starting salary of $17 a week. The first animators to bring pathos as well as comedy into movie cartoons, they recall finding particular inspiration in a scene from Chaplin's ''City Lights,'' which mixed pathos and slapstick. The moment in ''Snow White'' in which the seven dwarfs grieve around Snow White's bier is credited as bringing a new emotional dimension into animated characters.

The lives of both men bore uncanny similarities. Both had mothers who came from the same Illinois town. Both grew up infatuated with the adventures ''Ivanhoe'' and ''Robin Hood.'' Years later, when they had married and lived in adjoining houses in Southern California, both had sons born within the same week. Both were passionate hobbyists. Frank played piano in a jazz band called the Firehouse Five, and Ollie was a model train enthusiast.

The most revealing scenes in the film, which opens today at Anthology Film Archives, offer glimpses into the creative process, which for both men involved not only drawing characters but also acting out everything they did, mugging into the mirror, gesticulating and translating that body language directly into their drawings.

On a more intuitive level, that process entailed finding the emotional core of a film and trusting it. One of the most famous scenes in ''Bambi,'' an ice-skating sequence featuring a bumbling Bambi and a brash little rabbit named Thumper, didn't work until the right actor, a boy with an aggressively piping voice, had been found to play Thumper. At that moment, recalls Mr. Thomas, ''Bambi'' coalesced as ''a picture about kids in the neighborhood.''

''Frank and Ollie'' is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). Its emphasis on technique rather than storytelling could bore young children.

FRANK AND OLLIE

Written and directed by Theodore Thomas; director of photography, Erik Daarstad; edited by Kathryn Camp; music by John Reynolds; produced by Kuniko Okubo and Mr. Thomas; released by Buena Vista Pictures. At Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, at Second Street, East Village. Running time: 89 minutes. This film is rated PG.